Steve Finley

Did You Know?

• Finley grew up in Paducah, Kentucky, and attended Paducah Tilghman High School.
• His walk-off grand slam in an October game against the San Francisco Giants clinched the 2004 division title for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Career

Steve Finley was originally picked by the Atlanta Braves in the 11th round of the draft but chose not to sign, opting to stay at Southern Illinois University. While at SIU, he earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors twice, was named a third-team All-American in 1986, and was voted the team's Most valuable Player in 1987. He is enshrined in the Saluki Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1986, he played for Team USA and helped the squad win a bronze medal at an international tournament in the Netherlands. He was later drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round and this time signed a contract. Across 919 minor league at bats, he hit .309 and stole 68 bases. On August 29, 2009, he was inducted into the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame.

According to Thom Loverro, Orioles fans consider the trade that sent Finley, Curt Schilling, and Pete Harnisch to the Houston Astros for Glenn Davis on January 10, 1991, the worst in team history. Finley joined an Astros organization that was for sale and cutting payroll by relying on younger, cheaper players. In his first season with Houston, he finished third in the league in triples with 10, sixth in hits with 170, ninth in stolen bases with 34, and tenth in sacrifice hits with 10.

His 13 outfield assists tied Barry Bonds and Paul O'Neill for third in the NL. In a later season, he led the National League in games played with 162, ranked second in triples with 13, third in stolen bases with a career-high 44, third in sacrifice hits with 10, and seventh in hits with 177. Another year saw him lead the league in triples again with 13, though he was slowed during spring training by Bell's palsy, a viral infection affecting a nerve in his upper neck that caused numbness and prevented him from closing his left eye.

In a subsequent season, he placed second in the league in sacrifice hits with 13 and tenth in triples with 5, but appeared in only 94 games due to injury and the strike-shortened schedule. He missed nearly a month after being hit by a pitch on June 8 in a road game against the Montreal Expos, breaking the third metacarpal bone in his right hand. In December 1994, the Astros traded him along with Ken Caminiti, Andújar Cedeño, Roberto Petagine, Brian Williams, and minor leaguer Sean Fesh to the San Diego Padres for Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Gutiérrez, Pedro A. Martinez, Phil Plantier, and Craig Shipley.